A View To Live For
by theforgottenpromises
Summary: On their first family vacation with the Charmings, Emma suggests they take a gondola lift to a panorama deck. However, the ride doesn't go as smoothly as they'd hoped. - Written for Swan Queen Week day 7: Trapped together


**A/N This was written for Swan Queen Week day 7: trapped together.**

 **It's set a few years in the future, simply because it was convenient for Neal to be a toddler. Other than that, the time it's set in is completely irrelevant to the story.**

 **I haven't had this proof read by anyone so all mistakes are mine alone.**

 **Also, any and all feedback is so very appreciated, so please leave a few words and thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy this little one shot!**

* * *

"We're not going in the same car."

"Regina, come on," Emma tried to soothe.

"No," Regina waved her off, eyes still fixed on the gondola lift they were in line for. "If we crash, Henry will be motherless!"

Emma had to stifle a laugh at that. "Will you please relax? Everything will be fine." The line moved and they shuffled a few feet forward.

Besides," Emma added with a grin, "if we do crash, the entire cable will snap and all the cars hanging from it are doomed. Might as well share a car, right?"

Regina's eyes grew momentarily wide at the blonde's logic.

"This gondola lift surely isn't designed in a way that one malfunctioning car will drag the rest with it," Regina reasoned, her words comforting herself more than anything else.

"This gondola line isn't designed to crash at all. Stop worrying over the impossible." They shuffled forward again following David and Mary Margaret's lead in front of them.

"But if we do go down," Emma joked, because Regina's irrational fear was just too funny, "at least we all go down together. We can all join the afterlife together. We can make it our second family vacation."

Regina didn't answer as her eyes followed the cars going up the mountainside slowly. It had seemed like a good idea yesterday. Emma had suggested they go up the mountain with the gondola lift to enjoy the view from there. But then again, after having spent the past few days of their first family holiday inside, playing board games with the Charmings, she would've agreed to anything. Although she was seriously second guessing her agreement to this right now. This wasn't a good idea. She shouldn't even have gone on this trip in the first place.

When she and Emma had started dating, things hadn't exactly been easy between her and the in-laws. Things hadn't exactly been easy period. It took a lot of adjusting for all of them. Henry had been thrilled to see his mothers together, once he got over how weird it was and as long as the PDA's were kept to a minimum. Regina and Emma had both needed some time to get used to not being alone anymore. It had taken them a few months to find a new family dynamic. It had taken another few for Regina to include Emma's parents in that dynamic. David and Mary Margaret, for their part, weren't exactly thrilled with the relationship in the beginning either.

The only one who didn't have any trouble at all, was little Neal. Emma's brother had taken to Regina from his first day on earth. Of course, he didn't know better than her being one of Henry's moms. Just another woman in his complicated but loving family. He had no idea who she had been, what she had done. He was just a toddler, who simply enjoyed her company.

When they had all grown enough for Mary Margaret to suggest a family vacation, saying no hadn't been an option. That's how she had ended up here, looking at this gondola lift going up the slope of the mountain, and hoping she wouldn't die today.

"This is so awesome!" Henry exclaimed. His head appeared from behind David, in front of her in line. "Look moms! Look how high that is!" He was buzzing with excitement. Having grown up in Storybrooke, he hadn't done a lot of sightseeing in the past and this was the first real holiday he had ever gone on.

Emma heard Regina draw in a sharp breath at their son's words. Regina's nerves were beyond hilarious. For someone who was once the nightmare of an entire realm, this was definitely a surprise.

The line moved, and more of the mountainside came into view as they got closer to the front.

"There's clouds! Grandpa, we're going to go above the clouds!" Henry was now tugging at David's sleeve, unable to contain his excitement.

David nodded, just as thrilled as his grandson. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Look, Neal! We'll be going through the clouds!"

Neal squealed in delight as Henry picked him up so he could see out the windows over the heads of those in line in front of them.

"Above the sky! Above the sky!" He chanted as he clapped his hands.

The second Henry realized how high they were actually going, Regina had too. Her stomach was growing heavier with every step she took. She didn't like this. She didn't like this at all.

Of course, when she thought about it, what could really happen? Sure she knew this was perfectly safe. Hundreds of people when up and down this lift every day. Accidents were rare if not nonexistent. She knew all of that, but the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach still made the color drain from her face.

She looked at her family. Henry and Neal were pointing and laughing. They couldn't wait to get on. David and Mary Margaret seemed perfectly at ease, waiting their turn with their arms linked together. Emma had been the one to suggest it so she was obviously on board. If they all could, She could do this too.

Their turns came way too soon for the brunette's liking. When they reached the front of the line, one of the workers explained that each car fit a maximum of four people. Henry had asked them if he could ride with his grandparents because he wanted to tell Neal about the clouds.

Regina wasn't happy about that, but she didn't want him to see her this uncomfortable either. She barely had the chance to give her consent before Henry was already in a car, Neal bouncing on his lap. On the bright side. At least he would survive if they didn't.

The doors were closed, and Emma and Regina were left behind as the car started it's ascent. Neal and Henry were waving at them enthusiastically and Emma and Regina waved back until they were called over to get in a car of their own.

The family behind them counted exactly four, so they ended up having a car all to themselves.

Regina stepped in first, the car swinging just noticeably under her weight. Emma sat down next to her, both of them facing forward. An employee closed their door and off they went.

The second the car jerked into motion, Regina's hands flew to the edge of the seat on either side of her knees, gripping the plastic tightly. She was almost surprised it didn't crack under her palms. She kept her eyes trained on the floor at her feet, while the blonde next to her was trying to see out of every window at once.

"Wow, Regina, turn around. Look at how small the houses are getting behind us!"

Emma nudged her with an elbow when she didn't respond. She was still half turned in her seat, watching the village behind them shrink. "You're missing out. Why don't you just take a look?"

"I'm not turning to look into the abyss. I would like to focus on going up, not looking down."

More like focus on the floor, Emma thought. She turned back around when the brunette next to her still hadn't moved. She hadn't even taken her eyes from the floor. This could be gold. Emma remembered well how Regina had teased her senseless about her fear of flying bugs. Always calling her into the room whenever she found one. Her girlfriend didn't understand how these huge insects were created by the devil himself. The woman even allowed Henry to chase after her with the monsters every once in a while. Maybe it was finally time for some payback.

"O my god!" Emma yelled, fake panic lacing her tone. "The line ahead. It's- It's broken."

Regina's head jerked up so fast, Emma wouldn't have been surprised if she got a whiplash out of it. It took two seconds to realize the blonde was messing with her. Two. Terrifying. Seconds. She knew it couldn't happen. If the line was really broken, they would be falling. She knew. And she looked anyway. Fear was an irrational thing.

Emma was laughing so hard, her eyes started to tear up now. She wasn't even trying to hold it in. The death glare Regina shot her wasn't helping her case either. If anything, it made it all more hilarious.

"Your face," Emma wheezed. "So great."

Come on, pull yourself together, Regina scolded herself. She shot Emma the best smile she could manage. Trying to hide the fear pumping through her as best she could. Hiding her emotions had always been harder around Emma. She took a deep breath, and even conjured up the courage to lift her head again and look out the front window. Looking back may be too much to ask, but forward she could do.  
Never show them your fear, her mother had always said. Chin up, back straight. Appearance is everything.

"Lighten up, Regina. It's only a short ride. The view up there will totally be worth it."

This was ridiculous. Emma was right. She was being an idiot. She could come up with a hundred reasons why there was no need to be scared. Even as she listed them over and over in her head, a small voice in the back of her mind was still praying it would be over soon.

There was no way to tell how much higher they were going. The clouds above them were blocking all view of the top.

It was best to focus on the here and now, Regina decided. Her companion had whiped her eyes dry by now and was sitting calmly next to her. When she started a conversation, Regina did her best to join in. From the outside, she probably looked almost completely at ease. Even when her insides were still screaming. A skill she'd learned a long time ago.

the car rose into the clouds, and once they were completely engulfed it came to an abrupt halt. The stop made the car swing back and forth gently on its cable.

A wave of panic washed over Regina and for the first time, she turned around to see out the back window. Maybe she would be able to see why they had suddenly stopped moving. To her disappointment however, there was nothing but grey fog surrounding them on all four sides.

"Well," Emma's voice was laced with humor. "I guess God heard my prayers and granted us a private moment to finally make out."

She turned to Regina, but when she saw how ghostly white her girlfriend had turned, the wide grin instantly faded from her face.

"Hey," her tone was suddenly all serious. "Hey what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Regina lied. "I'm fine."

Emma didn't even need her superpower to know how far from the truth that was. She had noticed how the brunette had clung to the seat when they took off, but she had written it off to nervous jitters from being on a gondola lift for the first time. It was only now that she noticed Regina's fingers were still curled tightly around the edge, holding on for dear life.

The first thing Emma did, was cover the hand next to hers with her own. Slowly curling hers over Regina's and then prying her fingers loose one by one. She took the cold hand in her own, intertwining their fingers slowly and squeezing slightly. Just a reminder that she was here.

"You're not fine."

A beat of silence.

"No I'm not."

"Will you talk to me?"

"It's stupid."

"You could always just talk to God, you know. I heard he lives in the clouds, so we're practically in his living room right now."

It was a bad habit, Emma knew that. But she couldn't help but joke in uncomfortable situations. It was kind of her way of dealing with things. She wasn't scared herself, but seeing the fear in Regina's eyes was worse than feeling it in her own veins. Watching any bad emotion in someone you love more than life, is worse than experiencing the same thing yourself, Emma had learned. She never knew, because she had never loved anyone that much. Not until she found her family. Not until she found home.

"We are still not moving," Regina pointed out, completely ignoring Emma's last words. She didn't even respond with a sarcastic remark.

"I'm sure we'll be on our way in to time." The blonde jumped up to get a better look out the window. The movement made the car sway a little more than it already had been due to the wind, which in turn made Regina's hands clutch the seat again.

"Please sit down," Regina pleaded softly. Not only was the swinging sending fresh waves of terror through her chest, it was also making her a little nauseous now.

Emma ignored her as she moved to the other side and pressed her forehead to the glass to see below as far as she could. "I think I might see the ground. It's pretty far down though."

"Please sit down." Regina repeated, a little harder now. Her voice cracked a little at the end, much to her own annoyance, but at least it make Emma return to her seat immediately.

"Why is this freaking you out so much?" Emma wondered again.

"Because," Regina pointed out, "We are trapped in a metal box, suspended in the air, at least a hundred feet in the air. There is no view from any side, and we haven't moved in five minutes."

"True, true and true," the blonde checked off. "But for some reason I'm fine and you're freaking out. So what's really going on?"

"I'm not lying, Emma. The mere ride up this mountain is terrifying to me. You may have grown up with technology, but I haven't. It is one thing to get in a car and drive. It's another to get in a gondola and quite literally hang your life on a threat. Maybe it's the height, maybe it's something else."

Emma's arm wrapped around her, and it made her feel a little better. She leaned into the familiar warmth, breathing in the familiar scent of the shampoo she had picked out for the blonde.

"I've never been scared of dying before," Regina whispered. She'd never admitted that out loud. It had never really been anyone's business.

"What changed?"

"I've never before had anything worth living for."

Her mind flashed back to a time in the Enchanted Forest. A time where she had stood at the balcony, where she had pushed the banister, maybe even willed it to fall away. She had fallen, it had been an accident. Or had it? Back then, she wouldn't have minded if she had really fallen to her death. A part of her would've welcomed it.

"I do now," she continued. "I have so much to stick around for."

Her eyes locked with the emerald ones that shone with tears exchanging a look that communicated all the words neither woman could find. Then Emma tightened her hold and bridged the gap between them to brush their lips together for a second. The brunette felt most of the tension seeping out of her at the contact. Emma's touch always had a great effect on her. Whether it was the extra push to make a portal work, or simply to soothe her worries. It usually worked like a charm.

When they parted, Emma spoke, lightening the mood.

"Well, I am certainly glad that feeling is mutual. Besides, you're not dying any time soon because I am not dying any time soon. And I am dying first."

Regina, having calmed down significantly, chuckled at that. "Not a chance, dear."

Emma reassured her some more before creating an opening and expertly steering the conversation in a new direction, launching into a detailed story about pranking one of her annoying foster brothers. The brunette was fully aware Emma was trying to provide distraction and she gratefully grabbed it with both hands. She let her head rest on Emma's shoulder as she listened to the woman's animated voice recounting her adventures.

Regina focused on Emma's voice instead of the ones in her head and she succeeded in pushing down her discomfort and fear to an uneasy feeling in the back of her head and pit of her stomach.

Neither completely lifted however, until she finally had solid ground underneath her feet again a good twenty minutes later. Even then, she didn't let go of Emma's hand. Not when Neal bounded up to her as fast as his legs would carry him and collided with her legs. Not even when Henry hugged her tightly.  
The staff had apologized profusely for the inconvenience and they had explained all about the technical difficulties. In the past, Regina would've given them a hard time about it. She would've given them a piece of her mind, lashed out at them, but not today. Her family was safe, and that was all that mattered.

"You okay?" Emma checked. They were seated on a bench on the panorama deck because Regina didn't trust her legs to stand yet. A truly breathtaking view on all sides, which the others were admiring a feet away.

"Yes." Regina nodded and loosened her grip on her girlfriend. "Go. I'm honestly fine."

Emma shot her one more look and then got up to join their son at the railing. Regina watched as the blonde playfully shoved him aside and took his place. Henry, of course, wasn't going to let her get away with that and they ended up pushing and shoving each other until Emma went for a headlock. She ruffled his hair while he squirmed helplessly to get out of her grip.

Regina couldn't help the smile spreading across her face at the sight. Emma had been right.

The view was totally worth it.


End file.
